Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
From personal experience I can tell you that receiving a diagnosis for a serious illness is difficult. It's particularly hard if you're a child, but with talented medical professionals like Dr. Mike Swinyard, treating the disease can be much easier.
Dr. Swinyard is a pediatric endocrinologist who serves patients with a variety of endocrine and growth disorders. The most common disease his practice, Mountain Vista Medicine, treats is Type I diabetes in children. Dr. Swinyard was diagnosed with Type I diabetes in 1977, and as a result of his own experience with it, he can connect with his youthful patients in a unique way, which many parents appreciate.
Mountain Vista Medicine is headquartered in South Jordan, but Dr. Swinyard's patients come from many parts of the Intermountain West. He has outreach clinics in Ogden, Boise and Missoula, Mont.; this is significant because neither Idaho nor Montana has a doctor in his specialty. Unlike many other pediatric endocrinology clinics, Mountain Vista Medicine also provides transitional care for young adults to identify medical resources in the field of endocrinology.
Dr. Swinyard tells me he studied medicine at the University of Utah and worked with a specialty pediatric group in Layton for a few years before he decided to go out on his own. He opened Mountain Vista Medicine in September 2005 and just two months ago Dr. Swinyard moved into a new office building that expanded his space. His practice has grown enough that additional staff — and more office space — were needed.
Although receiving a diagnosis for a serious, chronic illness can be a difficult thing, Dr. Swinyard's staff is trained to help provide patients with hope and optimism as well as help them lead happy and productive lives.
